Category: Meat

Pork fillet en croûte (v. 2) with parsnip purée

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

On Monday I tried to cook pork fillet en croûte again, and this time it was absolutely perfect, if I may say so myself.  Christopher liked the flavours, but he had preferred to roll the bacoon around the fillet and have smaller pieces of mushrooms. I liked it just the way it was, and like that there are larger pieces of bacon and mushrooms. But I will try his version next time.

Pork fillet en croûte with bacon, button mushrooms and thyme, serves 4

400 g pork fillet

375 g ready-rolled puff pastry

100-150 g button mushrooms

6 slices streacky bacon

3 sprigs thyme

1 egg, beaten

salt, pepper

Cut the bacon into pieces and fry it until crisp. Drain on kitchen towel. Slice the mushrooms and fry them on high heat in the same pan, in some butter and olive oil. Season. Mix bacon and mushrooms and leave to cool completely. Mix in the thyme leaves.

trim the pork fillet. Roll out the pastry and distribute the bacon and mushrooms all over it, keeping the edges free. Season the meat and place in the middle. Roll tightly and nip in the edges. Place in a greased roasting tin, brush with the beaten egg. Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. Place in 200 C oven and cook until the temperature is 62C. Leave to rest a few minutes before slicing.  

Parsnip purée, serves 4

1 kg parsnips

milk

butter

salt, white pepper

Peel and cut up the parnsips. Rinse and place in a large pan. Just about cover with milk. Season. Bring to the boil and let it cook on low heat until soft. Drain but keep the milk. Purée the parsnips with a stick blender. Add butter and some milk if needed. Season.

Re-run: Nigella’s steak slice with lemon and thyme

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I know I have posted this recipe here before, but I just have to do it again. Because I have found the perfect accompaniment!

The recipe is from Nigella’s cookbook Nigella Express (a book that is improving to me) and it is the perfect way to make a rougher cut of meat really tender. You use rumpsteak and when you’re done you could think it is sirloin, that’s how tender it becomes. In the recipe Nigella recommends serving it with broccoli dipped in the marinade, and that is lovely, I agree, but I still want potatoes with my steak. Last time I made potatoes au gratin, but that was not the perfect combination. But a jacket potato with sourcream and chives is!  Christopher bought a nice bottle of red to go with it, so we really enjoyed our dinner last night. The dessert was delicious too, will post that recipe tomorrow.

Steak slice med citron och timjan, serves 2

300 g rump steak (preferrably thick)

2 cloves of garlic, smashed up

1/2 lemon, zest and juice

1 tsp salt

black pepper

40 ml olive oil

3 stalks of thyme, just the leaves

Cut the fat off the meat and fry it in olive oil a couple of minutes (2-3 mins) on each side. Meanwhile mix the ingredients for the marinade. Put the meat in a dish and marinate each side for 4-5 minutes. Slice it into small pieces and put it back in the dish and serve it.

The sides:

2-3 baking potatoes

300 ml soured cream

chives

broccoli

Cut a cross on the top of each potato. Bake for 1 1/2 hours in 200C. Press the sides towards the middle to ‘open’ the potato. Pour soured cream over it and sprinkle chives on top.

Cook the broccoli until almost tender. Drain. Remove the garlic from the meat marinade and pour it over the broccoli. Serve.

Three courses

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On Saturday when I took over Christopher’s mother Eileen’s kitchen for the evening, I was a little bit nervous. Partly because I don’t know where everything is in her kitchen and partly because it was the first time I cooked for her.

We usually come to her instead of her coming to visit us in London, and that is because of several reasons: she has a lot more living space than us; we have friends in the area; it is nice to visit the countryside; Christopher’s brother lives near by etc. But it feels wrong that we invite ourselves over and Eileen has to cook for us every time, so it was definitely over due for us (me) to cook for her. Christopher was nice and helped by guiding me around the kitchen, setting the table, putting cooking music on and filling and re-filling my wine glass as well as doing the dishes, so he actually did a lot more than I did.  

The recipes I used were ones I basically know off by heart and have cooked several times (you don’t want to fail in someone elses kitchen).

The starter was this simple but absolutely delicious recipe. Unfortunately the supermarket near by had no figs so we just hade some rocket with it, and that worked too. The most important thing is the parma ham, the filling and the balsamic claze, don’t forget the glaze!You can serve rocket with it like we did, a more substantial salad, figs, olives, marinated artichoke hearts or whatever you like. But please promise me to try this!

For the mains I made Nigella’s lovely lamb racks with a parmesan crust, roasted new potatoes and a red wine sauce.

Roasted new potatoes, serves 3

ca 500 g baby new potatoes

olive oil

rosmary

salt and pepper

Place the potatoes in a roasting pan, drizzle some oil over them and season with rosemary, salt and pepper. Place in 200C for about 30 minutes.

The dessert was another Nigella creation, the ever so lovely glitzy chocolate puddings, that you all have to try. My dear dad that doesn’t even like chocolate cakes or desserts loved this one…

Pork fillet en croûte with potatoes au gratin

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

Since I moved to London 2+ years ago I have made a few new food acquaintances that I probably would not have done in Sweden. I am really into pork belly now adays and I had never had rabbit before I moved here. I am trying to pay it back by introducing my English friends to the pork fillet. In Sweden it is the to-go-to cut for a larger dinner party and it is so versatile. The most important thing is to cook the meat the right way so it won’t be dry. I usually brown it all around in a frying pan and cook it through in the oven to preserve the juices.  

That was also the way I cooked the mat when I made this pork fillet en croûte. But I should have let the meat cool down completely before I rolled it in puff pastry, because warm puff pastry has a tendency to melt and become sticky. After a little struggle I manage to package the meat up nicely, but I have learnt the following until next time:  

* two layers on puff pastry on top of each other should work better than a single layer

* all ingredients need to be cool

* maybe I don’t have to brown the meat first. With salmon en croûte and Beef Wellington you don’t, so it should work here too.

Regardless of the presentation, it still tasted lovely! The potatoes au gratin was perfect, creamy without being too heavy.

Pork fillet en croûte, serves 3-4

1 pork fillet á 400g

olive oil

butter

375 g rolled puff pastry (preferrably double layers)

8-10 button mushrooms, sliced

6 slices bacon, in pieces

salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten

Fry the bacon until crispy in some olive oil, drain on kitchen towel. Fry the mushrooms on high heat in the same skillet. Season afterwards. Brown the pork fillet all around on high heat in both butter and oil in a frying pan. Season. Leave everything to cool down. Fold the puff pastry in half so you have double laers of it, make sure it is cool. Place bacon and mushrooms in a rectangular in the middle of the pastry, place the meat on top. Fold the pastry tightly around the meat and pinch the edges together. Transfer to a baking tray. Brush the top with the beaten egg. Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, place the tray in 200C oven, and take the meat out when it is 62-65 C. Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing.  

Potatoes au gratin, serves 4 

8-10 potatoes

butter

150 ml milk

150 ml single cream

1 tsp plain flour

1 clove garlic, pressed

salt

black pepper

Butter a gratin dish. Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly. Distribute them in the dish and season with salt and black pepper. Press the garlic into a bowl, add the milk, cream and flour, and perhaps a bit more salt and pepper. Mix it and pour it into the dish, unti it is filled 3/4 ways up. Place some knobs of butter, bake for 200C for 35-40 mins until the potatoes is cooked. 

Smörgåstårta (sandwich cake)

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I guess for non-Swedish people, this dish seems a bit bizarre. It is a cake made with bread and savoury fillings, and in my opinion really yummy.

It is quite old school but seems to have a revival at the moment. But this is something my grandparents when they were old, would buy from the bakery and serve at a daytime birthday party so they wouldn’t have to cook themselves. Followed by a creamy cake you certainly feel full afterwards, but it is nice at the same time. It is also popular for graduations and funerals or other gatherings.

I like mine moist but not too gooey, and with only small bits in the filling. Some put peas or corn to fill it out but I don’t like that.

This cake is a meat version containing ham and brussels paté, but a fish-seafood version is equally popular with prawns, tinned tuna and smoked salmon.

Since this was my first Smörgåstårta ever that I made myself, it is of course not perfect. If I made it again, I would place filling 1 on top and filling 3 at the bottom, and try to decorate it nicer. But for a first attempt I am more than pleased, and most important of all – it was really tasty!



Smörgåstårta (sandwich cake), serves 4

12 slices white bread, edges removed (4 slices in 3 layers)

Filling #1:

100 ml creme fraiche

50 ml mayonnaise

5 cm thinly sliced cucumber

2 sliced baby leeks

3 slices chopped smoked ham

Filling #2:

200 g mascarpone

4-5 sunblush tomatoes, finely chopped

finely chopped basil

1/2 chopped red onion

Filling #3:

150 g cream cheese

lbrussels paté after taste

5 finely chopped cornichons

Filling #4 (around the cake): same as filling #1 but without the ham

Decorations on top:

2 slices nice smoked ham

tomato wedges

cucumber slices

small pickled onions

cornichons

Rick Stein’s pan-fried rabbit with tarragon sauce

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

Back to our dinner last Saturday… Christopher cooked the main course and it was a Rick Stein recipe for pan-fried rabbit in tarragon sauce. Delicious!

Even though I grew up in the countryside and have seen both headless chickens and freshly killed game, I didn’t particular like the look of a dead, skinned rabbit, so I won’t show you any photos of that. Christopher bought a whole rabbit at the butchers and then cut it into pieces the way it was described in the recipe. The head and the legs were roasted in the oven to then make the base for a lovely stock, that was the main ingredient with the sauce, and the meat were cut into smaller pieces and pan-fried.

We had Hasselback potatoes with sesame seeds, wilted spinach and baked parsnips with the mat and sauce and it worked very well together.

The rabbit weighed about 1,5 kilos and that was just about enough for the six of us because we had so many other courses, but I would recommend that sized rabbit for four people.

Pan-fried rabbit with tarragon sauce, serves 4

1 x 1.5 kg rabbit

150 g carrots, coarsely chopped

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

150 ml dry white wine

500 ml chicken stock

10 g sprig of tarragon

Bouquet garni made from 1 celery stick, 2 bay leaves and some parsley stalks

20 g clarified butter

15 g chilled butter, cut into small pieces

salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 230C. To joint the rabbit, first remove the head, and then cut off the back legs from either side of the tail. Cut off the tail, and then the front legs. Trim away the bony ends of each leg, and the belly flap and ribcage from the body, then cut the remaining saddle across into 4 evenly sized pieces.

Put the trimmings from the rabbit into a lightly oiled roasting tin and roast for 25 minutes. Sprinkle over the carrot, onion and garlic and roast for a further 15 minutes. Then remove the tin from the oven and place over a medium-high heat. Add the white wine and bring to the boil, rubbing the base of the tin with a wooden spoon to release all the caramelized juices. Simmer for a couple of a minutes, then transfer to a everything to a saucepan and add the chicken stock. Strip the leaves from the sprigs of tarragon, coarsely chop and set aside. Add the stalks to the pan with the bouquet garni, bring to the boil, then reduce to a very gentle simmer and cook for 1 1/4 hours (covered). Strain through a sieve into a clean pan, bring back to the boil and boil rapidly until reduced by about half. Set aside.

Season the pieces of rabbit with salt and pepper. Heat the clarified butter in a large frying pan, add the rabbit and fry for 5 minutes until the pieces are evenly browned all over. Cover, lower the heat and continue to fry gently for a further 20 minutes until cooked through.

Lift the rabbit onto a large warmed serving platter, cover and keep warm. Pour away any excess fat from the pan, add the rabbit stock and boil until reduced to a well-flavoured sauce. Whisk in the chilled butter, a few pieces at a time, together with the tarragon leaves and some salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce back over the rabbit and serve.

 

Chorizo stew with carrot and parsnip

Published on by Hanna3 Comments

Both Christopher and I are fond of the chorizo. It is so versatile and gives so much flavour to its company. I came up with this recipe the other day and it was a real hit! The sweetness from the root vegetables and brown sugar together with the paprika heat from the chorizo and the the sourness from the tomatoes really worked. The cumin just took it that step further and added some earthiness.

Chorizo stew with carrot and parsnip, serves 2

chilli oil

1/2 chorizo ring

2 carrots

1 large parsnip

1 red onion

400 g chopped tomatoes

150 ml water

1 pressed garlic clove

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dark brown sugar

2 tbsp Heinz chilli sauce (or other mild chilli sauce)

salt

concentrated chicken stock

white pepper

Slice the chorizo and fry it in chilli oil in a large sauce pan. Remove to a bowl. Peel and dice the root vegetables and the onion, and add to the pan. Fry on medium heat for a few minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and the water. Bring to a boil and let it boil for a few minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add the spices, seasoning and stock. Add the chorizo. Serve with rice and a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream. Really tasty!

NYE 2010 – the main course

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When I went home to Sweden for Christmas, my parents gave me three wild ducks to take back with me to London. Thank you! And it worked out really well to bring them back in the suitcase. They were frozen and wrapped in plastic and newspapers and hadn’t defrosted one bit by the time I got home. So these treasures became our main course on New Year’s Eve. First I browned them all around and then I put them in the oven together with fresh thyme, juniper berries and port. The meat juices went into a simple sauce together with cream and I served Hasselback potatoes, small carrots and a chicory gratin with it.

Wild duck with port and thyme, serves 4 

3 wild ducks with the breasts on the body (I didn’t use the thighs)

olive oil

butter

100 ml port

fresh thymr

some juniper berries

Brown the ducks on all sides in butter and oil. Add salt and pepper. Pour over the port, add some juniper berries and some sprigs of thyme. Put a meat thermometer in the middle of the thickest part of the bird. Put the frying pan in the oven (make sure you use one without plastic handles) in 200C until the mat has an inner temperature of 62 degrees. Let the meat rest in tin foil while you get on with the sauce.

Carv the meat into slices before serving. I don’t know much (if anything about carving) but it seemed easiest to cut the around the breasts to loosen them from the body and then slice them up.

Creamy sauce, serves 4

the meat juices

300 ml cream

150 ml milk

maizena or other thickening granules

a splash of port

concentrated game stock

salt

white pepper

The meat juices tasted fabulous so you don’t need to add much to make a seriously nice sauce. Pour the meat juices through a sieve and into a sauce pan. Add milk, cream, maizena and bring to a boil. Season to tast with port, salt, pepper and stock.

Chichory gratin

chicory

single cream

salt

pepper

grated gruyére cheese

Wash the chicory. Cut off the stems. Put in a pan and cover with water for 1 hour to remove the bitter taste. Drain. Put back in the pan and cover with cream. Bring to a boil and cook on low heat until soft. Pour this into an oven dish. Add salt, pepper and cheese.  Bake in 200C until golden brown on the top.

Fondue

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This might sound very corny and retro, but I love fondue. I know that here in England a fondue means a cheese fondue, but in Sweden the meat fondue is more common and that is what I’m talking about here. I enjoyed this with my parents on the 23rd.

I love the fact that it takes quite a while to eat this meal, which gives plenty of time for you to enjoy the trimmings and sauces and to have a nice long chat with the people around the table.

You can either make fondue with oil or buillon. My family has always made the oil version so that is what I know and love. It can be a bit dangerous so do take it easy.

We usually have both pork and beef, diced, fresh mushrooms in wedges and serve it with potato wedges or other crispy oven baked potatoes. Vegetables, bearnaise sauce and barbecue spice is a must and we usually have a few dips and sauces and maybe some garlic bread.

As a little starter we first had some smoked wild duck, horseradish and tomatoes. Simple and lovely!

There is a fondue restaurant here in London, called St Moritz, and I would love to go. Maybe something for you to try if you like fondue just like me.

No recipe is needed. Just dice tender meat. Cook some potatoes, make a few sauces and add a salad or cooked vegetables. Heta up vegetable oil on the hob until it is really warm. Lit the burner and pour the oil into the fondue pan. Start dipping the meat and maybe mushrooms. Remember that the pork needs to be cooked all the way through, but that the beef can be eaten bloody or pink. Enjoy!

Hannu’s Christmas paté

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My mother is very much into her gardening, and she’s very good at it too, everyone who has seen her garden can verify that. One of my mother’s favourites within gardening is a Swede called Hannu Sarenström, and he does recipies too! We found this recipe in his book  Vinterkalas (Winter parties), and my mother and I made this at Christmas. It might be a bit late to post a recipe for a Christmas paté after New Year’s, but there is nothing Christmassy about this paté apart from the name. You can make this paté all year round.

We nearly followed the reipe this time, but made a few changes. We used 200 g chicken liver and 200 g mixed mince instead of pork mince and smoked ham instead of smoked bacon. We just added slightly less liquid and that worked really well. We also used a food processor for everything but the mince, so ours is a bit smoother. Really nice!

Hannu’s Christmas paté (called Barbro’s traditional Christmas paté in the book)

300 g chicken liver

300 g lean pork mince

1 packet smoked bacon

1 onion, grated

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 tsp salt

2 tsp marjoram or oregano

1 tsp black pepper

100 ml dry white wine

2 eggs

100 ml plain flour

100 ml double cream

2-3 tbsp chopped parsley

Chope the liver and add to the mince. Cut the bacon into small strips and add to the mixture. Add onions and garlic. Add salt, oregano (marjoram) and pepper. Stir in the wine, eggs, flour and cream. Add the parsley.  

Put the oven on 200C. Grease and coat a dish with flour, fill it with the mixture. Cover with tin foil and bake for 1 1/4 hour.